Chicago makes it easier to put solar panels on roofs

The Windy City is blowing red tape and roadblocks out of the way for new solar-panel owners.

It used to take a month to receive a city permit needed to install a small solar array. That’s being reduced to one day. Meanwhile, the price of the permit is falling 25 percent to $275. These improvements are thanks to a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy.

“It will encourage more and more people to have solar here in the city of Chicago on a residential and commercial level,” Mayor Rahm Emanuel said as he announced the changes at a solar event. “It will be cheaper, quicker and more efficient for people to put solar in.”